


Bit by Bit

by angie_dreams



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Again, Alternate Universe, Child!Kiyoko, Child!Runa, Child!Suna, Child!Tsukishima, Children's Novelist!Sakusa, Daycare Teacher/Caretaker! Sugawara, Editor!Atsumu, I wrote this instead of doing reqs, M/M, Minor Miya Atsumu/Kita Shinsuke, Not Beta Read, OmiKoushi wouldn't leave my brain till I write this, Social Worker!Kita, child!kenma - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:53:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27330778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angie_dreams/pseuds/angie_dreams
Summary: Kiyoomi writes for children despite never interacting with them.Sugawara aims to change that.
Relationships: Sugawara Koushi/ Sakusa Kiyoomi
Comments: 5
Kudos: 30





	Bit by Bit

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! You are about to witness the birth of OmiKoushi, straight eight hours of brainrot from me today. It’s OmiKoushi for me because it sounds like Sakusa’s favorite food: umeboshi. And who’s to say that he doesn’t end up eating Suga? AHAHAHA
> 
> Just kidding, but maybe?

The office was in its usual chaos of phones ringing and chatter of people rushing and extending deadlines. Sakusa just entered but he’s already looking forward to going home at the end of the day. He walks towards the small office space that was given to him and settles in his seat after his ritual of disinfecting his area.

“Hey Omi-kun! Any progress in that new story yet?” Atsumu asks with a raised eyebrow as he reclined on his desk chair slightly rolling it back from the desk.

“None. I’m having a hard time thinking about what would interest kids lately.” Sakusa replies through his mask.

“Maybe you should do some research Omi, hang out with kids from time to time ya know?” Atsumu advises with an irritating grin in response to the furrowing of Sakusa’s eyebrows.

“No thank you, kids are a nice market for my work but I am not interested in actually getting along with them. They’re very noisy and unsanitary. I’m sure I can work something out before the deadline, Miya. You don't need to worry about me.”

“No, no, no Omi, wait! What if I can hook you up with someone who has well-behaved and clean kids? Shin’s best friend- who’s a daycare teacher, has this ability to turn these heathens into angels. Maybe it won’t be so bad if you observe his classes?”

“Hell, no. Why should I even go?”

“Oh c'mon Omi! It’s not like you’re actually working on anything right now anyway! Who knows, maybe you’ll actually get material there!”

“Miya, if it has escaped your notice, dirty places give me anxiety. And if kids are one thing, they are DIRTY. So, to answer your question, NO. I will not go and meet kids.”

“T-then maybe you can treat it like, I don’t know- exposure therapy?” Atsumu looks as lost as Sakusa feels. But his editor has been there for him despite everything, so he feels compelled to give in just this once.

“Let’s meet him then. And I want you and your boyfriend to be there as buffers.” He relents.

“Yus! I knew you love me Omi!” Atsumu playfully bats his eyelashes at Sakusa and gets a bottle of alcohol thrown to his face in response.

“Ack! That hurt!”

A huff of a laugh. “Get back to work Miya.”

\--

Atsumu arranged the dinner in one of the restaurants that passes Sakusa’s standards of cleanliness. If anything, Sakusa’s just coming for the free dinner, and the possibility of making more connections never hurt anyone.

He enters the restaurant and sees Atsumu waving from a secluded corner of the establishment. He walks to the table occupied by three men.“Omi! You’re here! I want you to meet Shinsuke- my boyfriend, and Suga-chan- the teacher I told you about.” Atsumu says as he gestures to the man beside him and across him respectively.

“Kita Shinsuke. A pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve read your works and I really like them. Most of the kids I handle find comfort in your stories.” Atsumu’s boyfriend greets with the hint of a smile from his seat by the glass window.

“Sakusa Kiyoomi. Likewise, I just wonder how Miya ended up with you, no offense. I feel like you can do better”

The two of them shared a laugh at Atsumu’s “That’s mean Omi!” But Sakusa’s was cut short when he turned around to personally greet the last person in their group.

_ Wow, no wonder he can turn heathen’s into angels. He’s beautiful like one. _

Sugawara was smiling as he stood up from his seat, walked towards Sakusa and offered his hand. “Sugawara Koushi, it’s really nice to meet you. My kids absolutely love your work!”

Sakusa chose to ignore the gasp that came from Atsumu when he took Sugawara’s hand to give it a brief shake. “Sakusa Kiyoomi, a pleasure to meet you.” It seems like Atsumu gave them a notice about Sakusa’s condition since Sugawara’s eyes widened at the contact and he was the one who retracted his hand first.

_ Shame,  _ Sakusa thought.  _ He’s got soft hands. _

Sugawara cleared his throat and gestured to the seat inside the booth. “I thought you wouldn’t appreciate being near foot traffic Sakusa-san. You can have the seat beside the window.” He offers.

“Thank you.” Sakusa murmurs as he slides into the offered seat. No one bats an eye as he disinfects the surfaces he’s going to come in contact with. Once he’s done, he sits down and puts away his mask.

Sugawara sits beside him once he settles down and  _ wow, he smells good too.  _ Atsumu speaks.

“So what do you guys want to eat? My treat.”

The table is silent as they go through the menu and tell the waiter their orders. As the server walks away, Kita once again turns to Sakusa. “So, Sakusa-san, Atsumu tells me that you’re researching for your new work lately.”

Sakusa nods. “Yeah, but I think I’ve hit a wall. I haven’t been around kids so I don’t really know what tickles their fancy.”

“What do you mean, you haven’t been around kids?” Sakusa can hear the laughter in the man’s tone, he would’ve taken offense if the man’s eyes didn’t have that joking sparkle.

“You take these children to different worlds yet you haven’t experienced their wonder? I think we need to change that.” Suga says while nodding to himself. “Why don’t you come to class? I promise it won’t be that bad.”

Atsumu chimes in, wiggling his eyebrow. “Yeah Omi-kun, why don’t you? Even Suga-chan promises it won't be that bad.”

Sakusa sends Atsumu a withering glare which smooths out as he turns toward Sugawara. “I’d appreciate that Sugawara-san” He answers politely.

Sugawara laughs out loud this time and says “Just Suga is fine. Can I get your number then?”

Sakusa doesn’t hesitate to give out his phone. The reason why is not lost on him, but he refuses to acknowledge it. Sugawara rubs alcohol through his hands before taking the device. Sugawara then enters his contact details and sends a text to himself through Sakusa’s phone. The prolonged contact of someone else to his belongings should’ve been enough to set him off for the night, but Sakusa pushes through the apparent discomfort. He mutters a small “Thanks,” when Sugawara wipes the phone before returning it to Sakusa.

The two of them are stuck in their own bubble that they didn’t notice the giddy smile on Atsumu’s face and his tiny, eager and consecutive little slaps on Kita’s forearm on the table.

The four spend their time making small talk as they eat their meals. Sakusa hears about some of the low risk cases Kita is working on and his heart goes out to the kids who are put in these circumstances with lacking support from seats of power. He learns that Sugawara takes care of the kids whose cases Kita is in charge of, and there are currently five of them waiting for new homes.

Dinner was a short affair when Sakusa spent the entire time being enamored by Sugawara. He can’t help it- Sugawara was the type to laugh and live  ~~ maybe even love ~~ out loud. He’s almost sorry for not paying attention to Kita and Atsumu but if their suggestive looks were anything to go by, they’re cool with what’s happening.

They go their separate ways after Sakusa confirms with Sugawara when he can drop by and ‘hang out’ with the class.

Sakusa goes to sleep with a smile on his face that night.

\--

“Hi class! Today, we have a guest! Everyone welcome Sakusa-san! He’s going to be reading us his work: ‘The Fox and the Weasel’ - the class’ favorite!” Sugawara’s tone was lively but did wonders at soothing Sakusa’s nerves at seeing the class of five kids looking up at him in various levels of interest.

“Sensei! Why does he wear a mask? Is he ugly? Monsters cover their faces don’t they?” one of the kids asked Sugawara.

Sugawara pales a little at the question, looking at Sakusa for a brief moment before turning back to the kid. “Suna-kun! That’s rude! And Sakusa-san isn’t a monster, he’s very handsome, ok? He has his reasons to wear his own mask. And before any of you do anything, you guys are not allowed to touch him unless he’s comfortable with it, ok?”

Sugawara sends a pointed look at one of the girls who was about to grab onto Sakusa’s sleeve. The girl sheepishly smiles and brings down her hands with a whispered “Sorry, sensei.”

“That’s ok Runa-chan. Just be careful next time alright? People have boundaries that we have to respect.” Suga says with a small smile. He looks at Sakusa and mouths “ _ Sorry for that. _ ” Sakusa just shakes his head in response.

One of the kids raises their hand. “Yes, Kenma-kun? What is it?”

“Sakusa-san, why do you wear a mask? If you don’t mind me asking?” Kenma politely asks.

Sakusa sighs and pulls down his mask. Not finding the energy to hide the small smile upon hearing the other girl in the class gasp and say “Suga-sensei, is he your prince?” and Sugawara responded with a hushed “Kiyoko-chan, no! We’re just friends.”

Sakusa turns his attention to Kenma “I wear a mask because it makes me feel bad when the air carrying a lot of germs can touch my face for an extended period of time. Do you know what germs are?”

“Ooh, I know!” The last kid chimes in excitedly “It’s the bad little guys that make you sick when there's too many of them!” He places his hands on his hips and lets out a triumphant huff at his statement.

Sakusa smiles once again. “That’s right. You’re a smart one, aren’t you?” Sakusa trails off questioningly while looking at Sugawara.

Sugawara understood. “Now, now, Tsukishima-kun. Let’s settle down with the rest of the class and listen to Sakusa-san's story, hmm?”

There was a chorus of “Yes, sensei!” as the kids carried their own pillows to sit on around the chair that has been prepared for Sakusa.

Sakusa sits down and opens his copy of the book, taking a deep breath. He looks at the kids in front of him and then Suga across him. The latter offers a supportive smile and Sakusa starts reading, taking everyone else in the room with him to an adventure:

_ The fox and the weasel are very good friends. They play together in the fields during spring and summer and frolic around the fallen leaves by autumn, They often share their food together and do their best to help each other out. _

_ The fox would protect the weasel from other large animals by providing his body as cover. But the weasel would also repay the fox during the cold winter months. _

_ Whenever winter comes and the weasel’s winter coat along with it is something that excites them both as friends. Sometimes they would play hide and seek for fun, but it also serves as practice for both of them; evasion for the weasel and hunting for the fox. _

_ But winter is harsher for the fox that needs to hide from bad humans who want to harm him during the cold. There are traps- lots of them, hidden in the snow, waiting to snap their metal jaws around animals like the fox. _

_ This is when the weasel does their best to protect their friend who stayed with them through the seasons. Because of his coat, hunters can’t see him unless they are looking for him. His lithe figure also allows him to evade the traps as they spring close. _

_ To make the harsh winters more bearable to his dear friend, the weasel would set off the traps set for the fox- making them useless for the hunters and safe for the animals in the forest. _

_ The hunters would always go back home disappointed and empty-handed. They have no trophies to brag about, and that fact is proof of the weasel and fox winning over them in this twisted game. _

_ As winter ends and spring comes, the bonds between the fox and the weasel grow even stronger. And they lived happily ever after. _

Sakusa clears his throat as he shuts the book, breaking the trance the room was under. The kids and Sugawara seemed to be blinking their stupor off. Then, the questions from the children started pouring in.

“Sakusa-san! Sakusa-san! Why are hunters bad?” Suna shouts.

“Why doesn’t the fox have a winter coat, Sakusa-san?” came the innocent query from Runa.

“Do you have friends like the weasel and the fox?” was Kiyoko’s solemn question.

“That was so interesting Sakusa-san! Do you have more stories?” Tsukishima asked with sparkles in his eyes.

“Can we sleep now?” yawned Kenma.

Sakusa was taken aback by this reception, He knew that kids like his stories- hell, he can afford his lifestyle thanks to sales from it. But he never saw this: the wonder and curiosity from the meagre words he managed to string together. 

Sugawara clapped his hands together, getting everyone’s attention. “One at a time, kids. Sakusa-san isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so take your time. After that, it’s nap time ok?”

Another chorus of “Yes, sensei!“ as Sakusa catches his breath from that barrage and starts answering their questions as they come.

As the kids were winding down from naptime after that question-and-answer and Sakusa was getting ready to leave, Kenma piped up.

“Sakusa-san? Are you going to visit us soon?” The question caught the attention of the other as there came a barrage of “Please!?” and “Let’s play next time too!” paired with pouts and puppy dog eyes.

Sakusa looked at the kids,then Sugawara, and back at the kids before he gulped and said, “Yes, as long as Suga-sensei allows it?”

The kids then turned their pleading eyes to Sugawara, who took one look at them and laughed out loud. “Alright, I’ll talk to Sakusa-san when he can visit. He’s a very busy man you know? Now, off to your mats and go to sleep.”

The children cheered and thanked both Sugawara and Sakusa before lying down on their mats and going to sleep. 

“Sorry about them.” Sugawara says, “They haven’t seen any other adults aside from me and Shinsuke in a while, so they got too excited. You don’t have to indulge them into coming back if you really can’t though, it’s fine.”

“It’s alright, I can make time for them.” Sakusa affirms. “I feel like I understood what you were saying during dinner about their wonder. I’d like to see yo- I mean, them next time as well.”

“Alright, thank you so much for this Sakusa-san.” Sugawara sends him off with a smile.

\--

The next day, Sakusa is back at the office and had just settled to his seat when Atsumu rolled his chair right across Sakusa. “So…?” He prompts.

Sakusa knows what he’s asking for but he’s not going to give Astumu the immediate satisfaction.

“Omi! Spill! How was it? Did you enjoy it? Have you managed to swoop Suga-chan off his feet yet?” Atsumu cackled at the red hue of Sakusa’s cheeks at the last question.

“It was fine. Fun, actually. The kids were precious, I already asked Suga if I can come back sometime.”

“Do you have a story yet?” Astumu asks, back in business.

Sakusa thinks back to that small classroom yesterday. The laughs from Sugawara and the kids as they learned and played. He cracks a smile. “Yeah, I do.”

“Nice, I’ll be waiting for your draft on my desk soon ok? I’m gonna go edit more papers.” He turns around to go back to his space.

Suddenly he remembers Kiyoko’s question from yesterday.  _ “Do you have friends like the weasel and the fox?” _

He calls out. “Hey, Atsumu?”

“What is it, Kiyoomi?” Atsumu has a small smile on his face.

“Thanks for being my fox.” Kiyoomi says sincerely.

Atsumu’s smile widens. “Anytime, weasel. Now start that story.” He says as he rolls his chair back to his desk, not seeing but knowing that Sakusa is smiling behind him.

\--

Sakusa continues to visit Sugawara’s classes. He would read them a story of his every time and answer any questions the children's curious minds have to offer. Then they would play and slowly get used to each others’ boundaries.

After a few visits, Sakusa can now comfortably lie on his stomach on the floor as he reads to the kids sprawled around him. Each visit brings the children closer and closer to his heart, and their influence speeds up his writing process for the new story. What can he say, he’s very inspired after each visit.

But as much as he can say that these visits were for the kids, or for research, or ‘therapy sessions’, he can’t deny that a large part of him visits regularly because of Sugawara. There’s something magnetic about him that Sakusa can’t help but be attracted to. At this point, he’s not surprised if the object of his affections is aware of said affections. He just wants to continually see Sugawara (and the kids).

A few weeks later, Sakusa finally finishes his latest story. He asks Atsumu if he can read it to Sugawara and the kids before it officially goes out in print. Atsumu is ecstatic as he agrees. “Omi’s finally making the moves!! My weasel is finally snagging a mate!” He cries to Kita when the three of them got together in a decent izakaya to iron out the details of the surprise.

“If it counts, Sakusa-san,” Kita starts. “I give you my blessing to court Suga.”

Sakusa smiles and raises his pint in response as they ended the night with a  _ kanpai! _

\--

Sugawara knows there’s something going on in Sakusa’s visit because Atsumu and Kita are here with him. They’re carrying food and balloons inside and exciting the children even more. Even Sakusa was different. Sugawara can’t help his breath catch upon seeing Sakusa in a dress shirt and slacks, without his mask. It was a sudden but appreciated change from his usual jeans and t-shirts during his visits. 

Even the kids were well-behaved despite their apparent excitement.

_ Is there a secret I’m not privy to?  _ He wonders, but he couldn’t ask his question out loud as Sakusa started addressing the kids. 

“Alright, everyone. Today I'm going to be reading my new story before I release it in bookstores next week."

Sugawara gasps. So that's why this visit is almost ceremonial. They're going to be the first people who hear about Sakusa's new story. The one he was working on all this time. Sugawara's chest clenches with feelings he can't name.

Sugawara sees Sakusa's gaze flit at him before addressing the kids once again. "So I want you to listen really well, ok? And tell me your honest thoughts about it afterwards. Are we clear?"

The kids responded affirmatively and Sakusa took a deep breath before starting. "Alright, this story is entitled 'Angel and His Little Helpers:"

_ Heaven is wide, and sometimes even angels get lost. _

_ This is a story of five lost angels who found their place in the heavens. _

_ Kei, Rin, Kiyo, Runa and Ken were outside playing tad and hide-and-seek when they wandered into a part of heaven that they never knew existed. That's when they realized that they were lost, and that the other angels were too busy with their own duties to look for them. _

_ Lost and confused, the young angels can't do anything but hold onto each other and weep. "What can we do now? We don't know where to go and who to call for!" they said. _

_ As their cries grew more desperate, they didn't notice that one of the older angels actually heard them. _

_ The older angel approached the huddle of little ones and spoke up in a soothing manner. "Hello, what's wrong?"  _

_ The crying stopped as the little ones blinked at the intruder. Then they started crying again, this time in relief. "Thank God someone found us!" Kei cried out. _

_ "Oh dear," said the older angel as he gathered them in a very warm embrace. "There, there. I've got you. I'm Koushi, what's your names?" _

_ The little angels sniffled as they introduced themselves one by one. "Kei","Rin", "Kiyo","Runa","Ken" _

_ "Hello to you all, are you lost?" Koushi asked. As the little ones nodded, he frowned. "Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that." _

_ "Can you help us back?" Rin asked. _

_ Koushi smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I got lost like you guys, so I just grew up here." _

_ The children were about to cry once again when Koshi added. "But that's alright, you guys can just come with me! I have a lot of things to do and having five cute little helpers is definitely going to be fun!" _

_ "Well Koushi-san," said Kiyo "what do you do?" _

_ The smile Koushi gave this time was enough to blind them. "Oh! I take care of all the animals who ended up in heaven! I get to play and hang out with all of them!" _

_ "Really!?!" Runa squealed, with sparkles in her eyes. _

_ "Uhuh!" Koushi replied with the same enthusiasm, "do you want to come with?" _

_ "Yes please!" answered Ken for their group. _

_ "Alright then! follow me!" said Koushi as he flapped his wings and flew off. _

_ And thus, the small angels found their place in heaven by Koushi's side, frolicking with the weasels and foxes to their heart's desires. They lived happily ever after as Koushi’s little angels. _

Sakusa closed the book and was expecting another barrage of questions, or criticisms as usual, but all he heard was silence. Confused, he looked up to find the kids and the other adults sniffling. He frowned.

"Are you guys alright?" He asked worriedly  _ Did I do something wrong? _

"Sakusa-saaan" Suna whined, "why would you lead us to Koushi-san if you're not there?"

“But Rin-kun, that was your story. It’s you guys and Suga-sensei. I wrote it for you guys based on our reality. I was simply here to observe and write about it.” Sakusa explained.

“Well, you're wrong Sakusa-san!” Runa wailed. “Our reality includes you now.” She cried as the rest of the children nodded their agreement.

Sakusa feels out of depth. “But-” he starts, only to be interrupted by Kiyoko.

“If you can’t fix the story in the book, then you just have to fix the reality.” She says with a definite set to her lips.

“That’s right!” Kei exclaimed as he and Kenma stood up to drag Sakusa up from his seat to where Sugawara was standing with Kita and Atsumu.

“You didn’t include yourself in the story because you’re not with Suga-sensei right? Then we just have to fix that!” Kenma explained like Sakusa was the kid in the situation.

“I-” Sakusa can feel the flush in his face as he sees Sugawara redden as well. He can hear Atsumu and Kita snickering beside them but he can’t get himself to care at the moment. 

“Go on, Sakusa-san” Kenma encouraged “Ask him out!” Kei added.

“That’s right, Sakusa-san!” egged Atsumu, “ Ask him out!”

Despite the clamor around them, Sakusa just looked straight at Sugawara. He pulled his arms away from the clutches of the kids. He grasped Sugawara’s hand with one of his own as the other rubbed the back of his neck.

“So uh, Sugawara-san,” he started. “Will you go out with me?”

The smile Sugawara gave him as he said “Yes. of course!” was louder than the hoots around them.

Guess, he’s not running out of inspiration anytime soon.

**Author's Note:**

> I searched ‘fox and weasel’ on YouTube and clicked on the very first video. Was squealing over the cute weasel in its winter coat just screwing around with the cameraman until I decided to read the comments and see that the fox was k*lled :( I ended up not finishing the video so the story was inspired by me imagining a different ending to that video.
> 
> Anyways, this ship was born out of a random anecdote from a friend who recently got into Haikyuu and it refused to leave my brain after finding out there’s no relationship tag like it. So I made one, and I’m probably going to write more OmiKoushi when I’m done with the semester.
> 
> Please talk OmiKoushi to me on [twitter ](https://twitter.com/haikyuuuhh). Join the brainrot


End file.
